Vasil Semenovich Stus is an outstanding Ukrainian poet, dissident. A martyr poet who wanted truth and justice, who was not afraid to go against the authorities. With his creativity, an unbending civic position and fiery patriotism, he earned the love of his compatriots, who to this day honor the memory of the poet. Stus's poem collections have also been published in some European countries.
Childhood
Vasil Stus was born in the Ukrainian village of Rakhnovka (Vinnytsia region) on January 6, 1938. His parents were impoverished peasants who lost their property during the time of collectivization. Vasil was the fourth child in the family. In 1939, in search of a better life, the parents of the future poet left for the city of Stalin (modern Donetsk), and a year later they took the children there. Father found a job at a chemical plant.
Vasil graduated from high school with a silver medal.
Prohibited Literature
While still a high school student, Vasil Stus worked on the railroad, where for the first time he became interested in the literature prohibited by the USSR for some Ukrainian writers of the so-called executed Renaissance (these are M. Khvylyova, I. Bagryany, A. Oles and others). The youth of the work of these writers made a lasting impression.
Literature of the "Shot Renaissance"
Many Ukrainian poets and writers of the 20-30s of the 20th century chose not Soviet, but European art as their reference point, relying on creativity in the individual rather than the crowd. Unlike the “advanced” Soviet writers, they built their works not on slogans, but on the personal experiences of an independent and freedom-loving hero. One of the most impressive works of this time is “I (Romance)” by M. Khvylovy. In it, the author shows cruelty, inhumanity, terrifying indifference to the suffering of others and death.
Most of the remarkable Ukrainian writers who showed unacceptable free thought were shot. The rest are repressed, oblivious, or broken.
The life position and direction of the work of these poets and writers had a tremendous impact on the young Vasil Stus, who largely repeated their thorny path.
Student years
In 1954, Vasil entered the Stalin Pedagogical Institute at the Faculty of History and Philology. He spent a lot of time in the library, was in a literary association. The young man discovered the great German poets Rilke and Goethe. He translated over a hundred of their poems into Ukrainian. Unfortunately, these translations have not survived to the present day. In 1959, Stus graduated with honors.
The beginning of the creative path
In 1959, Literary Ukraine published the first poems by Vasil Stus.
After graduation, Vasil left to work as a teacher of the Ukrainian language and literature in a rural school. From there he was taken into the army in the Urals. After the service, he continued to teach in Gorlovka. After he worked at a mine in Donetsk. In 1963, Vasil worked as a literary editor of the newspaper Socialist Donbass.
Kiev
Vasil decided to go to graduate school of the Taras Shevchenko Kiev Institute of Literature of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences. While studying at graduate school, Vasil Stus released a collection of poems, The Twirl, wrote a lot of literary and critical articles and translations of works by foreign poets.
First protest
In September 1965, the premiere screening of the film “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors” took place in the Kiev cinema “Ukraine”. At this time, a protest rally was held, in which Vasil Stus also took part. The purpose of the action was a protest against the political persecution of the Ukrainian intelligentsia. Participation in the protest cost the poet dearly: Vasil Stus was expelled from graduate school.
Happy years
After graduating from graduate school, Stus switched from one temporary job to another. He traveled a lot with friends, met Valentina Popelyuh, who soon became his wife. In 1966, the couple had a son, Dmitry.
The second collection of poems by Vasil Semenovich Stus was published in Belgium.
First arrest
In January 1972, Stus was arrested. The reason was the literary activity of Stus and participation in associations fighting for human rights and protesting against totalitarianism. The poet spent about 9 months in a pre-trial detention center, where he wrote the third collection of poems. The poetry of Vasil Stus has been unjustly criticized. He was sentenced to five years in prison and three years of exile. In 1979, returning to Kiev, he renounced Soviet citizenship.
Second arrest
The freedom-loving Vasil Stus was again arrested in 1980 on far-fetched and unfair charges, sentenced to ten years of forced labor and five years of exile.
The poet died in prison in 1985 under mysterious circumstances. Hundreds of his poems were destroyed.
In 1989, the ashes of Stus were transported to Kiev at the Bike Cemetery.